A Twin Thing
by Miss Muggle
Summary: Fred and George's Hogwarts years, from their very first trip to Diagon Alley to their infamous final flight from Hogwarts.
1. Diagon Alley

**Chapter One: Diagon Alley**

"Mum! Mum! Can we go now? Can we? Please?" Molly Weasley sighed to herself. At age eleven, Fred and George Weasley were already more trouble than the rest of their siblings combined, not to mention more impatient.

"Coming, dears," Molly called out to them. "Are your brothers ready?"

"Yeah, Mum. We're here," called out Bill. "Can I go ahead?" Molly nodded absently, walking into the kitchen.

"Go on, dear, but don't leave the Leaky Cauldron." Bill stepped into the whirling green flames and was immediately whisked away as he shouted, "The Leaky Cauldron!" Charlie went next, followed by Percy.

Fred and George, nearly bouncing up and down in anticipation, each grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. "One at a time," Molly gently reminded them, but they somehow managed to both squeeze into the sooty fireplace.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" Their two voices echoed as one.

Molly sighed yet again and stepped into the tingling fire, ready for another exhausting day.

Tumbling out of the fireplace, in a swirl of soot, coughing, Fred and George looked excitedly around themselves. At that moment, Percy walked in front of them, looking down sternly. "_Why_ did you Floo together _again_?" he demanded. "You know what Mum says!"

"Yeah we know-" began George.

"Extremely unsafe!" Fred put on a high falsetto, imitating his mother.

"You could get out at the wrong grate!" George put in.

"You'll get stuck!" Fred continued with a grin.

"Why must I always-" George suddenly stopped and whirled around as he heard another voice in unison with his. His mother stepped out of the fireplace, lecturing the twins with the speech they had heard countless times, ever since they had started traveling by Floo Powder.

"We're sorry, Mum," Fred quickly cut in.

"We just tend to do things at the same time without thinking," added George.

"Must be a twin thing," they both said, and laughed together.

"Well, I suppose it's alright this one time. Don't you do it again! Just come along now, we've got lots to buy." Fred and George now sprouted identical grins. Diagon Alley! They were finally here. Ever since Bill had started attending Hogwarts, the Weasley children had all begged their mother to bring them to Diagon Alley; even Percy had asked once he heard about it from Bill. But Molly held up her policy and only allowed her children to make their first trip to Diagon Alley the year they started school. No matter how much the twins had wheedled her, she hadn't given in. She wanted it to be a "first-time experience" for them.

Both twins' minds suddenly snapped back to reality as their mother led them out the back of the pub to a dingy alleyway. Charlie had told them about this place; it was the entrance to Diagon Alley. "We'll go to Gringotts first," their mother explained, "then split up, buy our supplies, and meet for lunch." She proceeded to tap a brick in the wall with her wand, and Fred and George watched in amazement as an archway opened up in front of them.

The twins barely had time to look around them before their mother whisked them all off to a huge white marble building. Guarding the massive doors were two goblins in uniform. Fred and George stared, open-mouthed, at the goblins, having only before seen pictures of them in books. Their mum walked up to one of the counters and placed her key in front of her. "We'd like to make a withdrawal from vault 429, please." The goblin, after carefully inspecting the key, nodded curtly and pointed to a door on their left.

"Oh, you guys are going to love this," Bill said to Fred and George, who were still speechless.

They entered a dark cavern, where a cart was waiting for them, with a grumpy-looking goblin inside. They all clambered in, and the cart began to roll. The twins laughed with glee as they whirled up, down, and around, finally coming to a rattling stop in front of a door marked 429 on a bronze plate. Their mother quickly stepped into the vault and gathered enough money for the day's trip, as the twins gushed to their brothers about the cart ride.

"That was brilliant!"

"Why didn't you tell us about this?"

"It was like one of those Muggle...er- what do they call them, Fred?"

"The rolling toaster?"

"Roller coaster," laughed Bill, who had taken Muggle Studies.

"Will you two kindly pipe down," Percy said primly, "as we are going back now."

"Wicked!" shouted the twins, and scrambled back in. Their cart sped its way back to the main entrance, and the five of them stepped out into the bright daylight.

"Now, boys, do stick together," said their mother, addressing Bill, Charlie, and Percy. "And remember, you will _first_ get your school supplies and _then_ you can go where you want."

"Yes, mum," the three boys chorused.

"You two are staying with me," continued Molly, addressing the twins. "What do you want to get first?"

The twins gave their immediate response: "Wands!"

"Ollivander's it is, then."

Later that night, Fred and George lay in their beds, thinking about their day. They had both gotten wands with a core of dragon heartstring; Fred's was oak and George's mahogany. Flourish and Blotts had supplied them with not only their schoolbooks but _Charms for the Practical Joker_ and _Curses and Jinxes for Your Personal Enjoyment_. These, of course, their mother didn't know about. The other shops were all excellentbut none surpassed Kranker's Joke Shop, for which they had been saving up most of their pocket money for the last year. Their bags were loaded with Exploding Ink Bottles, Toe-Biting Slippers, and of course the classics like Filibuster Fireworks and Fanged Frisbees. Now all they had to do was wait for the school year to begin.

"G'night, Fred."

"G'night, George."


	2. Pranks

**Chapter Two**

George's eyes snapped open early the next morning. He immediately glanced over at Fred, who was wide awake and staring at the ceiling. George cleared his throat softly, causing Fred to look over in relief. "Thought you'd never wake up," he whispered to his twin.

Although neither of them had spoken it aloud, they both shared the same wish for the morning: to try out their new joke products. They both sat up in their beds and quietly started to plan.

Half an hour later, Fred crept slowly down the stairs, a dungbomb in his hand. He knew perfectly well that setting one off in the house invariably caused their mother to make them set up breakfast- in fact; it was what he was aiming for. He hastily threw it into the kitchen and darted back upstairs to his room, dashing in and giving George a thumbs-up. A moment later, angry footsteps pounded up the stairs after him. Their mum stalked into their room and slammed the door behind her.

"How many times do I have to tell you!" she fumed, not bothering to keep her voice down due to the permanent Silencing Charm that had been placed on their doorway years ago. "No dungbombs in this house! I want both of you in the kitchen, now!" She stormed out, oblivious to the identical grins Fred and George shot each other.

"Coming, Mum," they called down after her as they gathered their supplies and tried to hide them unobtrusively in their robes.

They set out breakfast quickly, slipping in a few products here and there, and making their usual complaints so as not to raise their mother's suspicions. They didn't dare touch her plate; they knew the penalties would be bad enough for messing with the rest of the family if they were caught.

Gradually, the rest of the Weasleys trickled into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing their eyes sleepily. They sat and started to eat, Fred and George both looking eagerly at Fred's watch. "Three...two...one..." they muttered.

All at once, the table burst into chaos. Fred and George looked around smugly, surveying their work: Little Ginny's flaming red hair had turned a brilliant shade of green, and Ron's ears and nose were extending by the second. Percy looked around dizzily, seeing stars around his now purple eyes. Charlie's face was sprouting extra freckles until he was covered in them, and Bill's hair had grown to three times its usual, short length. Momentarily dazed, the five siblings looked around at each other before all together bursting out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Mrs. Weasley demanded, bustling in to see what had happened, but just at that moment-

"Three...two...one!" and everyone changed back to normal. "Gordon's Famous Time-Release Face Mutating Pills," announced George proudly.

"We got them yesterday at Kranker's," added Fred.

Mrs. Weasley looked confused. "None of you look...mutated," she said. "But all the same," she continued, putting her hands on her hips and getting into her stride, "you should _not_ have tested out your jokes on your brothers and sister! You know what your father and I think about these pranks you pull. Oh, will you ever learn? De-gnoming the garden for you today, and no Quidditch until they are all gone! I don't want you two sneaking off on your brooms while the gnomes chew up my vegetables. Now go!" She pointed at the kitchen door and Fred and George trudged out.

"Well it was worth it," muttered George, picking up a gnome and hurling it into the woods.

"Yeah," agreed Fred, doing the same, "did you see the look on Ron's face?"

"Poor, poor Ronald," intoned George solemnly, and they both cracked up again.

Bill was walking towards them from the kitchen now. "Hey," he called over to them as they straightened up again. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Anything for you, dear William," said Fred in a high-pitched voice, fluttering his eyelashes.

"How'd you like your new hairdo?" smirked George.

"Well actually, that's what I wanted to ask you about," said Bill, who had caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. "I thought it would look quite nice actually, in a ponytail. How long can those things last?"

"A week at the most," answered Fred.

"So... what do you say? Can I buy them off you?"

"Sure..." said George.

"For a small service charge," Fred cut in.

"We'll give you the lot," George explained.

"For 6 Galleons, 14 Sickles, and 8 Knuts," calculated Fred.

"Deal," Bill replied. "I'll need them until my hair can grow out by itself." He walked back to the house as Fred and George finished de-Gnoming and started planning the next day's pranks. Bill smiled to himself. With those two, it never ended.


End file.
